Allies, Friends, and Other Foes
by Miraii
Summary: A crossover with YYH. Kagome's day is ruined by evil (stupid evil!), and life is further complicated by some new allies. Go Part Six!
1. Part One

Allies, Friends, and Other Foes  
  
an Inuyasha/Yuu Yuu Hakusho crossover  
  
A few notes on setting and mythology:  
  
I think I did pretty well on mixing the mythos of the two shows, but there is one change. Basically, I had to account for the fact that in YYH, there is a seperate demon world (Makai), while in Inuyasha, demons and humans coexist in the human world (Ningenkai). But we hardly ever see demons in Kagome's time, so what happened there? YYH canon says that at one point the two worlds were one, but at some point in the distant past, they seperated. So for the purposes of this story, I've just changed it from the distant past (I think they say 44 generations ago in YYH, which is way too long for our purposes), to like, four hundred years ago. Probably no one cares, but I feel weird enough about writing a crossover in the first place, I want all my bases covered.  
  
The story is set, for YYH, between the second and third seasons, so after the Black Tournament arc and before the next arc. In Inuyasha, it's set during the filler after Naraku disappears around episode 90...ish, and before Kohaku reappears in episode 102. Obviously, if you haven't seen that far, there may be some small spoilers, but nothing big.  
  
And we all know I don't own these characters and am technically violating copyrights. But I don't think any of us really care, do we? Onward!  
  
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Part One  
  
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Kagome stretched her arms over her head, smiling. The last final of the term was over, and she actually thought she'd done well. All her frantic studying had to have paid off, because for the last week or so, she'd actually been able to understand what her teachers were talking about, and she was sure she'd passed.  
  
'It probably didn't hurt that things have been so quiet on the other side of the well,' she reflected. 'I've actually been able to go to school for a whole week in a row!" But now she had a term break. Starting tomorrow morning, it would be jewel-shard hunting and demon slaying full time for a while. But that didn't seem as bad as it once had.  
  
As they were dismissed, Kagome's friends descended on her. "Kagome-chan, you're smiling! That geometry final must have gone ok?"  
  
"Yep! I'm sure I passed!"  
  
"Lucky you," groaned one girl. "I took one look at that test and everything I've ever known flew right out of my head."  
  
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," teased Kagome. "Anyway, I need to get going. I'll see you all at the end of the break!" She swung her backpack onto her shoulders and started off. "Ja ne!"  
  
"Aren't you going to be around?"  
  
"Oh, I- um..." She cast about for a reason she wouldn't be at home during the break.  
  
"She's going to be with HIM, I bet!" Her friends burst into giggles, and Kagome flushed a little bit.  
  
"Kagome-chan! When are we going to get to meet this mystery man of yours, anyway?"  
  
She tried to bite back her smile, imagining how her friends would react if they actually met the "mystery man," dog ears and all. "Bye-bye!" she chirped in English, darting out the door and laughing.  
  
Outside, she threw her head back and basked in the sun. It was a beautiful day, she had done well on her finals, and she was on her way to meet Inuyasha. Everything was perfect. He'd shown up last night, as he tended to do when he got bored and she'd been away too long. She wouldn't dare to tell him so, but she loved it when he came through the well. Knowing that he really did want to be near her that much, even if he never admitted it out loud, made her feel warm and happy all over. He'd played with Sota while she studied, and slept on the floor by her bed. He'd offered to meet her at school this afternoon, but instead she'd arranged for him to meet her a few blocks away. She was sure that if her friends caught sight of him, they would instantly realize he was the "boyfriend" they'd been asking and teasing her about for so long. And Kagome could tell that Inuyasha wouldn't react well to meeting them.  
  
She saw him up ahead, and had a sudden urge to break into a run. Instead she called out and waved, and he waved back in a surly way. She had to suppress a little laugh. Since he'd started spending more time on her side of the well, she and her mom had bought some clothes for him that would make him less noticeable than his usual clothing made from fire-rat's fur, and he absolutely hated them, although he grudgingly wore them when he went into public. Privately, Kagome thought that he looked almost - almost - handsome in the jeans, tshirt, and zippered sweatshirt, although not much like himself. Of course, even in the unremarkable, ordinary looking clothes, he still got a lot of odd looks, as any boy with waist-length silvery white hair is bound to get walking around Tokyo, but they were fewer than he used to, and as long as his ears were hidden under a hat, he could pass easily enough for a weird human boy.  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
"Hey. How'd it go?"  
  
"Great! I think I did really well!"  
  
"Good, then maybe you won't whine so much about school." He took her backpack, to her surprise. 'He must be in a really good mood,' she thought to herself. He caught her looking at him with affection, and started.  
  
"What? Why are you staring at me?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
Kagome just smiled and slipped her arm through his. "I'm not going to argue with you today, Inuyasha. You're not going to ruin my good mood! Now let's go home, ok?"  
  
As they walked towards the shrine where she lived, Kagome thought she'd never been quite so content. She leaned her head against Inuyasha and sighed.  
  
"What's with you? You're being really weird today."  
  
"Aren't I allowed to be in a good mood once in a while? Look around you, it's a gorgeous day! And more importantly, for the first time in ages, I'm not worrying about anything: finals are over, nobody's trying to kill me, life is good!"  
  
Inuyasha stared at her like she had lost her mind, but then his face slowly cracked into a smile and he started laughing at her. She didn't mind. She laughed, too.  
  
As Inuyasha composed himself, he gave her a long, appraising look that was full of affection, and for a breathless instant, Kagome wondered if he was going to try to kiss her. Of course he didn't, just shook his head and muttered "Dumb girl," and went on walking.  
  
Less than a block from the shrine, things started to fall apart. Inuyasha's nose twitched and he sniffed the air suspiciously.  
  
"Inuyasha? Nan desu ka?"  
  
"Not sure. Do you... feel anything?"  
  
"A Shikon no kakera, you mean?" She concentrated, reaching out with her extra sense for the humming power of the Shikon no Tama, but it wasn't there. She shook her head. "Definately no jewel shards nearby." But there was something - a jaki, malevolent and coming closer. "Inuyasha!"  
  
"You feel it? That jaki."  
  
Suddenly the sun didn't seem so warm. Kagome wrapped her arms around herself. "Are wa..."  
  
Whatever the source of the jaki, it was rapidly moving towards them - or towards the shrine. Inuyasha's hand was fumbling at his waist, having forgotten that on the advice of Kagome's mother, he'd left Tetsusaiga at the shrine, it being very unlikely he would need it, and very likely that it would draw more attention to him.  
  
"Home," Kagome gasped. "We've got to get home. Hurry, Inuyasha!" She broke into a run. The intense evil of the energy made her feel desperate and terrified. Whatever she did, she couldn't let it get to her family. 'Mama... Sota... Jii-chan...' she prayed. 'I won't let it get you.'  
  
Inuyasha moved like the wind, faster than any human. He caught up to her in an instant, grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her onto his back in a single smooth movement, and they were off, his arms stretched behind him in the strange, inhuman way he ran, his feet slapping the pavement. Kagome kept her head down and a tight hold of his shoulders, and prayed silently against whatever evil was coming.  
  
They had reached the gate to the shrine, and it was upon them: an enormous bird, hideous and cruel, surrounded by a cloud of jaki so intense it made Kagome dizzy. Inuyasha set her down. "Get Tetsusaiga for me. I'll hold it off. Go!" She nodded and ran towards the house at the back of the shrine, hearing his cry of "Sankon tetsou!" behind her, and the tear of his claws through the creature's flesh.  
  
"Mama! Jii-chan! Mama!" she screamed. Where were they? Were they safe? Her mother was opening the door in front of her, her eyes wide and her face petrified at what was happening outside.  
  
"Kagome, what's going on?"  
  
"Where's Tetsusaiga? The sword, Mama!" she gasped. Her breath was ragged from trying to run in the toxic air of the bird youkai's jaki. Mama wordlessly pointed to where the sword lay on the table in the living room, and Kagome grasped it thankfully. The battered sword in her hand gave her a feeling of safety and she knew with certainty that Inuyasha wouldn't fail to protect her, her family, and their home. "Mama, stay inside," she called over her shoulder as she ran out. "Inuyasha will take care of it!"  
  
She ran again, fighting against the paralyzing effect of the jaki. "Inuyasha!" she called, and he put his hand out expectantly. Her body reacted, and she threw the sword as though it were a boomerang. The hanyou caught it, and as soon as it touched his hand, Tetsusaiga burst into life. With a roar, Inuyasha slashed at the bird's chest, and doubled back, landing a good ways away to catch his breath.  
  
"I feel sorry for you now," he grinned. "No puny bird stands a chance against my Tetsusaiga! Kaze no KIZU!" He swung the sword and a burst of power tore from the blade. Unfortunately, the youkai bird flapped its wings and evaded it with ease. "Kuso," Inuyasha swore.  
  
"Rei Ki... GUN!" Kagome looked around to place the new voice, and the blast of powerful energy that had accompanied it, striking the bird creature in the abdomin. There was, she realized, a very new youki nearby. And whatever the source was, it was powerful. In fact... she furrowed her brow, trying to focus on the new energy. There were several newcomers, all of them with great power.  
  
The bird, amazingly unhurt by the blast, rose into the air and let out a crow that turned Kagome's blood to ice, and with a few flaps of its massive wings, it began to circle the small outbuilding that housed the sacred well. Kagome gasped as she realized it was shrinking. When it had reached the size of an ordinary blackbird, the creature plummeted straight down. Kagome understood too late what it was doing. "No!" she cried out, taking a few futile steps in that direction. It smashed through the roof, sending little wooden bits of shrapnel flying.  
  
Inuyasha was there in an instant. "Kuso, kuso, KUSO!"  
  
The jaki had disappeared. The bird youkai had gone to the Sengokou Jidai. 


	2. Part Two

Well, the response for this has been somewhat encouraging, so here goes chapter two, in which everybody talks, Kurama is pretty, and Yuuske and Inuyasha yell at each other a bunch. Yay! Also, I apologize for the sometimes-excessive Japanese vocabulary. Really, there's just no excuse besides showoffy-ness. And... no new chapters for a while yet... until I work out the story a little more. In the long term, see. Don't want to screw it up like my last long story. Please review. I make no pretense at owning these characters. Enjoy.  
  
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Part Two  
  
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"What the HELL just happened? Where'd it go?"  
  
"It's like the reiki we were tracing just disappeared..."  
  
"Maybe it's dead."  
  
"It's not dead!"  
  
"There's no body, no evidence at all that it died."  
  
"But MAYBE it's dead. Urameshi hit it pretty good."  
  
"Baka, it was flying just fine."  
  
Kagome was still staring in a daze at the hole in the roof of the well's little home when she realized that there were some complete strangers having an argument next to her. Shocked, she turned around and looked at the strangers. There were four of them, four boys who looked roughly her age or a little older, and they were all watching where they had last seen the bird youkai, obviously baffled by the complete disappearance of the bird's jaki.  
  
Inuyasha stepped between her and the newcomers, brandishing Tetsusaiga threateningly. "Who the hell are you?" he growled.  
  
The boys looked at him like they hadn't noticed him before, and one of them, the one Kagome instinctively thought of as their leader, stepped forward with a challange in his eyes. "Who the hell are YOU?" he replied. The others were also clearly ready for a fight, and Kagome had a bad feeling about what might happen if she didn't step in to diffuse the situation.  
  
"Ne, ne, Inuyasha, let me handle this," she said gently, stepping out from behind him and waving her hands lightly in his direction until he put his sword away. She stood as tall as she could in front of the strangers, determined not to feel intimidated by them, and, squaring her shoulders, she spoke. "I'd like to ask you one question: what is your connection with the youkai that was just here?"  
  
The lead boy, the one in a baggy green school uniform, gave her an incredulous look. "I'm not here to grant interviews to junior high kids with youkai lapdogs."  
  
"NANI? What did you just say?!" Inuyasha demanded, fists raised.  
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome interupted, in a warning tone that made him freeze. It was the way she said his name before she said "Osuwari," and so, ears flat, he quieted and glowered at the boy. "Now, I'd really like an answer."  
  
"Well I don't think I have to-"  
  
"We're going to kill it." The first boy was interrupted by a soft voice from another of the strangers, a tall and slender boy with long red hair. When he looked at her, Kagome couldn't help but blush. He was really beautiful; too beautiful for him to be human. Was he a youkai?  
  
"A- Ano..." She faltered for a moment, her cheeks getting warm under his deep green eyes. Inuyasha's pointed "KAGOME!" brought her back to the present and she nodded her head briskly at the gorgeous bishounen and turning her attention back to the now smirking leader of the group, added, "Then we're definately on the same side. I don't know what that was, but if you're its enemies, then you're my allies."  
  
"Yippie," snarked the boy in green. "Look, that's great and all but we don't really need your help."  
  
"Oh? Then how will you find out what happened to the youkai?" She cocked her head to the side and grinned, then raised on finger in the air in her sweet lecturing way. "We know where it went, and you don't. You know what it is, and we don't. At least, I'm assuming you know what it is. Ne?"  
  
"Yeah, we do."  
  
"So we need each other, then. Ok!" Kagome smiled, and the boy nodded his assent.  
  
"I guess so," he said reluctantly.  
  
"Ok! Higurashi Kagome desu!" she bowed from the waist. "And this is Inuyasha," she gestured to the hanyou who kept his arms crossed and glared fiercely. "Hajimemashite!"  
  
"Urameshi Yuusuke, Reikai Tantei."  
  
"Reikai Tantei? I've never heard of a spirit world detective before."  
  
"Then you must not leave Ningenkai much," Yuusuke cracked his knuckles. "I'm pretty famous." Inuyasha snorted, and Yuusuke clenched a fist. "You got a problem, Inu-youkai?" Kagome put a hand over Inuyasha's mouth and smiled brightly, assuring Yuusuke there was no problem. "Yeah, well, this is my team, anyway," he jerked his head towards the others, and the stunning green eyed boy stepped forward to take Kagome's hand and bow politely and formally.  
  
"I am known as Kurama," he said as he bowed. Kagome's cheeks went scarlet at the soft touch of his fingers on hers.  
  
"Ha-hajimemashite," she faltered. She could actually FEEL Inuyasha freaking out behind her, and she quickly stepped away from Kurama.  
  
Yuusuke introduced the other two. The first was a tall, clumsy-looking human boy in a uniform like his, but blue, who went by the name Kuwabara Kazuma and acted awkward and shy around Kagome. The other was a short youkai boy all in black who merely nodded acknowledgement when Yuusuke called him by the name Hiei, and regarded both Kagome and Inuyasha with a cold, calculating stare that reminded Kagome of nothing so much as Inuyasha's half-brother Sesshomaru.  
  
"Ok, then," she said when the introductions were complete. "Let's not waste any time. I don't like that thing. What can you tell us? What is it?"  
  
"Well, it's a giant, evil bird," Yuusuke pointed out helpfully.  
  
"That thing is an agent of a Makai king," Kurama began.  
  
"Makai?" Inuyasha interrupted. "What's that?"  
  
"The demon world?" Yuusuke looked at him doubtfully. "What kind of a youkai are you?"  
  
"He's a hanyou," Hiei observed matter of factly.  
  
"And I could kick your ass any day, twerp!"  
  
Kagome sighed. This wasn't going very well. What had happened to her beautiful day? Wasn't she supposed to get one gorgeous afternoon before things got annoying and complicated again? And with that strange youkai on the other side of the well... she trembled to imagine, and quietly knelt there on the ground. Could Kaede and her villagers be safe? Perhaps Miroku and Sango could handle it, but the blast of power Yuusuke had used against it had barely seemed to do anything, and it had been formidable.  
  
Inuyasha turned away from Hiei suddenly, sensing Kagome's distress. "Kagome?"  
  
"Tell me." She directed the order to Kurama. "What does it want?"  
  
"The youkai king who controls it is after a lot more power than he's already got, and he's sent that bird to look for a way to get it."  
  
Yuusuke nodded. "Yeah, so he's looking for some ancient jewel."  
  
"Jewel?" Kagome felt a sinking feeling in her heart. 'Please don't say Shikon no Tama,' she thought hopelessly.  
  
"It's called the Shikon no Tama," Kurama clarified. "It can grant immense power to the possessor. But five hundred years ago, it was shattered into pieces."  
  
"Oh yeah," Yuusuke snorted. "I remember that part. Some stupid miko broke it."  
  
Kagome bit her lip.  
  
Kurama went on. "After that time, there aren't any definate records of what happened to it. But this king thinks he's found a way to travel through time and get the intact jewel."  
  
"And our job is to stop him from getting it!" finished off Kuwabara, the first time he'd said anything since meeting Kagome. He was less shy when discussing battle plans.  
  
Kagome nodded thoughtfully, processing the information she'd been given. Her hand strayed to the Shikon no kakera on a chain around her neck.  
  
"Well, that's easy," said Inuyasha. "There's no way he can get the whole Shikon no Tama if he sent it through the well."  
  
"The well?" Yuusuke asked.  
  
Kagome sat up straighter. "That youkai bird went into the sacred Bone Eating Well, which leads into a time in the Sengokou Jidai, about five hundred years ago." The boys didn't look that surprised. "Sometimes," she amended. "Not everyone or everything can go through."  
  
"So if it's really in the past, why did you say it can't get the jewel?"  
  
"Because," explained Kagome. "At the point where the well would have brought it to, the Shikon no Tama has been broken. And most of the pieces are in the hands of Naraku, and nobody knows where he is, or how to find him."  
  
Silence. They stared at her, and she stared back at them. "So... I guess we go and kill it?" she said weakly. She really didn't want to go face that creature without the strength of these tantei strangers.  
  
Yuusuke shrugged. "If it can't get the jewel, I don't see why we should bother."  
  
"But you know that thing feeds on human flesh!" shouted Kuwabara.  
  
Hiei flexed his fingers. "I was looking forward to killing it. If you don't want to waste your time on it, I can go alone. It's strong but stupid; it won't be that hard."  
  
Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's wrist and dragged her to her feet. "We don't need these idiots anyway," he growled. "I'll take care of it with my Tetsusaiga."  
  
"Yeah, you sure had it taken care of back there," laughed Yuusuke. "You couldn't even hit it"!  
  
Inuyasha turned. "If I had, my attack wouldn't just bounce off it like yours!"  
  
As the two boys got into a shouting match, Kurama stepped close to Kagome. "I will go as well. Hiei is right, it's quite stupid, but it does take a lot of force to bring one of those down."  
  
"A- arigato, Kurama-kun." She sighed deeply. "I've never felt anything like that jaki, and the more people fighting it, the better off Kaede-bochan and everyone will be." She furrowed her brow worriedly. "I'm not sure if the well will let you through, though."  
  
"Well, I will try, at least." He winked at her and went to talk to Hiei.  
  
Kagome didn't want to say it, but she didn't know how else to get Inuyasha's attention. She knew he'd be furious at her for making him lose face in front of these others, these boys that he obviously didn't trust. And she wasn't sure about some of them, either, but Kurama seemed trustworthy, so for now she'd believe them. So she opened her mouth and let loose Inuyasha's least favorite word: "Osuwari!"  
  
He slammed into the ground so hard he saw stars. "Kuso..."  
  
"Ne, Inuyasha!" she ran up and dragged him away from Yuusuke. "Let's get ready to go, you need your real clothes and I have to get our food in my bag!" She pushed him towards the house, and quickly turned and bowed to the others. "If you don't want to try to come with us, that's your decision. But we have to go as soon as possible. It's our duty. We'll be back in a few minutes. If you're coming along, be ready then." And with that she ran towards the house.  
  
"You are flirting shamelessly," Hiei informed his friend.  
  
Kurama laughed. "I'm just being nice. You might try it sometime, it's wonderful. You too, Yuusuke," he added. "People respond remarkably to it."  
  
"Especially girls," Yuusuke rolled his eyes.  
  
Kurama smiled. "Anyway, I'm going along with Kagome-chan. Hiei, you're coming too, right? The Sengokou Jidai was before the youkai retreated from Ningenkai, you couldn't take two steps without running into someone to fight. You'll love it."  
  
"How do you know so much about it?" Kuwabara asked doubtfully.  
  
"I'm old," Kurama said cheerfully. "So are you guys coming?"  
  
"What makes you so sure we can trust these people?" Yuusuke asked. "I don't like that Inuyasha guy. Guy like that just gets everybody into trouble."  
  
Kurama and Hiei's eyes met for a moment as the same thought occurred to both of them that Inuyasha had reminded them a LOT of Urameshi Yuusuke.  
  
Yuusuke sighed. "But I guess we don't have much of a choice at this point. So we go along with these guys for now, but only as long as we have to."  
  
"I don't like getting girls involved in this kind of thing," Kuwabara said doubtfully. "Maybe someone should talk her into staying here."  
  
"Without her, I think that hanyou and Yuusuke would rip each other's throats out," pointed out Hiei. "And though that would be entertaining to watch..."  
  
"Ha! I could take that guy blindfolded and asleep!"  
  
"Maybe if I were already dead, lousy ningen," growled Inuyasha, who had reappeared, dressed all in red with Tetsusaiga strapped to his side. He was considerably more impressive this way.  
  
Kagome popped up from behind him, hands waving to diffuse the argument before it escalated. "Hai, hai, we're all very strong, that's why we're going to work together, ne?" She patted Inuyasha's head, which made his ears droop with embarassment and frustration.  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you not to treat me like a dog?" he hissed at her.  
  
"Gomen ne!" She smiled at him and turned to the Reikai Tantei. "We're going now; are you coming?"  
  
"Yeah, we'll go along with you. It is our job to take care of that thing, after all," Yuusuke agreed.  
  
"Good. I just hope the well will let you through," Kagome led the way towards the well, waving to her mother who stood in the door of the house looking worried. "Ja ne, Mama! Tell Sota I'm sorry we couldn't say goodbye! And thanks for the bento!" Turning back to the boys, she explained "My 'kaasan made us a little meal for tonight. You never know what you can find over there, so it's always nice to bring something, and Mama is a great cook."  
  
Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama were all privately impressed by the girl's apparent fearlessness at the dangerous situation they were facing. Hiei wondered if she was stupid. Inuyasha hoped the packed lunch didn't include curry.  
  
Kagome pushed open the door and peered in. The shrine building that housed the sacred well had always given her the creeps. It was so dark and dank, and what kind of a well needed a holy building and a seal on it, anyway? Of course she'd found out the answer to that question on her fifteenth birthday... It looked much different now, with sunlight pouring through the jagged hole that the youkai had left in the roof. The light seemed shifting and eerie. She shivered a little as she climbed down the steps to the old well, and touched the rope ladder she used to climb out of it, to reassure herself. It was the same well it had always been. She'd done this countless times before.  
  
"So?" Yuusuke demanded, impatient. His voice sounded horribly out of place in the eerie quiet.  
  
Kagome shook her head and cleared her thoughts. "We just jump in, and it does the rest on its own. When you land, you'll either be at the bottom of the well in the Sengokou Jidai, or you'll just be at the bottom of the well." She put one leg over the edge of the well, and immediately Kurama stepped forward to lend her his arm, making her cheeks go pink once again. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, but Kurama had followed Kagome over the edge almost immediately. 


	3. Part Three

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Part Three  
  
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Miroku sat crosslegged under an old tree, allowing his senses to wander, hyperaware of the slightest changes in the air around him. For all his playful (and sometimes perverted) antics, the young monk had quite a serious side to him, and felt a great dedication to his faith. He took the time to meditate rarely, much more rarely than he ought, but he was imperfect, and one of the benefits of being a Buddhist was, he thought, the acceptance of human imperfections. After all, technically he was supposed to reject material possesions as having no true worth, but that hadn't stopped him from ripping off the occasional nobleman and selling the goods for food. He liked to think he was liberating the rich from the trappings of wealth and helping them come one step closer to nirvana. A smile played across the young man's lips as a faint breeze danced against his skin.  
  
Suddenly, much too suddenly, he felt the overwhelming presence of something evil. His eyes flew open and he was on his feet immediately, looking around him. Was he under attack? It seemed to be coming from the direction of the deep woods known as Inuyasha's Forest. Gripping his staff firmly, he started in that direction.  
  
"Houshi-sama!" He turned his head at Sango's call. She was running towards him, Kirara beside her. "That jaki!"  
  
"I know!" he called back. "Let's go!"  
  
The beautiful taijiya leapt onto the back of her faithful fire-cat, and reached out a hand to pull Miroku up behind her. Kirara bounded into the air over the forest trees.  
  
"Where could it have come from?" Sango wondered. "It was so sudden. One moment nothing, and the next moment, this massive evil force." It had indeed been sudden - Sango still had her kimono on over the tight-fitting armor of a youkai taijiya. As she spoke she tied her hair high on her head to keep it out of her way during the fight she sensed was coming.  
  
"There!" Miroku pointed. "By Kagome's well!" A bird was rising from the well, and as soon as it cleared the edges, it began to increase in size.  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango let loose her battle cry and flung the massive Hiraikotsu boomerang at the bird's head. Miroku had to duck to avoid being struck by it. He stood up on Kirara's back and lept into the air with his staff, uttering a cry and striking. His staff connected, but had little effect, and as he fell backwards, twisting his body so he could land on his feet, one hand grasped the prayer beads wrapped around his wrist, preparing.  
  
He landed, and called to Sango and Kirara to get out of the way. "I'm going to use Kazaana!" He pulled the beads away and loosed the hellmouth of his right palm. The massive bird shrieked with rage and flapped its wings against the powerful force of the Kazaana curse. Miroku couldn't keep it open too long without endangering everyone around, and the youkai was strong enough to resist it. He closed it and clutched his hand to his chest for a moment. Kazaana was painless, but it left him feeling breathless and sapped.  
  
Sango retrieved her errant Hiraikotsu, which had been thrown off its course by connecting with the creature's head, and sought an opening again. The bird had lifted well off the ground in its effort to escape the wind tunnel, and now let out a shattering crow, suddenly descending and seizing Sango by the shoulders. She felt her feet leave the ground, and cried out "Houshi-sama!"  
  
"Sango!" Miroku shouted. "Kirara, quickly!"  
  
Sango had dropped her weapon, but kept her head and fumbled in the folds of her kimono. She always kept a small knife strapped to her waist, just in case she needed it. She tried not to notice how dizzingly high she was getting, as she drew the knife and firmly implanted it in the foot that had hold of her, slicing deep and unreservedly. One of the toes of the beast came off raggedly, and it screeched in anger and pain, letting go of her and flying higher up.  
  
Sango fell for only a few dizzying moments before Miroku's arms caught her, and she was pulled onto Kirara's back, safely embraced by the monk. "Sango," he gasped with relief, resting his face on the back of her head. As Kirara brought them down to a safe height, Sango closed her eyes and rested against him, her heart pounding from her near escape.  
  
It took a few moments for them to remember themselves, and that the danger wasn't over yet. Their eyes sought the sky for the enemy, and their hearts sank as they realized it was most assuredly on its way to the village and it would be there in a matter of minutes. "Kirara, we need to get there first," Sango urged her faithful friend. "We have to warn them!"  
  
They touched down in the village a few moments later, and started shouting. "Get inside! Everyone hide!" The villagers saw the bird coming, and most of them were already hustling the old, the young, and the weak inside their huts and homes, anywhere they could be safe. The men and some of the stronger women, who were all well used to youkai attacks, were arming themselves and preparing according to Kaede's orders.  
  
"Kaede-sama, you should get inside," Miroku told the aged priestess. "That youkai nearly carried off Sango."  
  
"What a time for Inuyasha to go missing," Kaede sighed. "I will certainly not go and hide, young monk. I've been fighting youkai some forty years now." She pulled an arrow from her quiver and watched the shape in the sky getting closer.  
  
The youkai was in no mood for a fight, however. It swept over the village a few times just out of bow range, scanning with its wicked eyes. Kirara lunged, and Hiraikotsu sang as it cut the air. It dodged the blow, screaming with a downward plunge. Sango cried out as her eyes followed its path. A small girl who had snuck out of her home to watch. The villagers attacked with arrows, with spears, and with curses, but the devil moved too fast, and they couldn't fight without fear of hitting the child, who was being lifted. Sango urged Kirara closer. Only they could get high enough to fight. She tried to put the screams of the child out of her head, and hefted her recovered weapon over her head, took careful aim. If she missed, the girl would not survive. "Kami-sama, please guide me... HIRAIKOTSU!" The elegantly carved bone sliced through the air and connected firmly with the youkai's legs. She had been right in guessing that the creature was stupid, and would drop its prey in shock. Her gamble had paid off a second time. Kirara instinctively caught the wailing child, and they immediately glided back to earth. The youkai cried out in fury and sailed away to find an easier meal.  
  
"Yokkata!" A weeping woman pushed through the crowd and embraced the little girl, sobbing her thanks to Sango for the rescue. The girl was still crying with pain and fear. She had not had the benefit of armor, as Sango had when she'd been caught, and the bird's talons had pierced her flesh deeply. She was bleeding copiously from her wounds, and wailed. Kaede knelt down beside her mother and tried to quiet her as she surveyed the wounds. "Carry her into my house immediately," she ordered, and the girl's father obeyed. Kaede walked behind, moving as hurriedly as her body would allow her. The child was still in great danger.  
  
Kirara reverted to her smaller form and hopped into Sango's arms, mewing. "Hai, Kirara," the young woman said. "You were sugoi."  
  
"You both were," Miroku agreed, surprising her. "Sango, I haven't seen you fight like that before. It was truly inspiring."  
  
"I just hope it wasn't futile," she said sadly. "That child could still die."  
  
He bowed his head. "Sou desu. But have some faith in Kaede-sama." There was silence for a moment, until with a rather naughty glint in his eye, the monk added "Are YOU injured, Sango?"  
  
"Me? No, I'm fine."  
  
"Are you sure? Perhaps I should just check to be sure..." A resounding slap to the face pulled his wandering hand off of Sango's body and onto his own face, rubbing the stinging mark. "I was just trying to help!"  
  
"I assure you, THAT part of my body is FINE!" Sango stalked off. Miroku sighed and decided to see if he could assist Kaede in any way. 


	4. Part Four

---  
  
Part Four   
  
---  
  
Kagome glanced behind her as she was enveloped in the blue that meant she was travelling between the worlds, to see if anyone had followed yet. Yes, Kurama was just a little way above, looking about him with interest. His eyes met hers and he smiled, and then she hit the ground with a bump, lost her balance, and started to fall backward, precisely where Kurama ended up standing. "Ah! Gomen," she gasped, righting herself and blushing furiously.  
  
  
  
"Are we here?" he asked.  
  
"Hai!" She grabbed hold of a few vines and tugged to make sure they were sturdy, and began her climb. "We have to get out before the others come or there won't be enough room," she called over her shoulder, suddenly realizing with a flush that from above like this, her uniform's short skirt didn't leave much to the imagination. Not that Kurama would be using his imagination in that way, she scolded herself. They were on a mission, after all.  
  
Kurama noticed the same thing when he looked up to see how high the well was. He decided he better get her out of there before Kuwabara and Yuusuke got there, since they weren't the most tactful and polite of boys. He bent his knees and jumped straight into the air, and as he passed Kagome, he caught her around the waist and pulled her out of the well with him.  
  
They landed on a grassy green slope that looked like there had recently been some kind of highly localized hurricane. "Hmm," murmered Kurama. "What went on here?"  
  
Hiei shot out of the well and from inside there were shouted curses from Kuwabara, who was having trouble maneouvering the vines.  
  
"Hiei, doesn't this look odd?" Kurama gestured at the broken branches and other debris littering the ground.  
  
"I suppose, if you consider a mess to be odd," was the fire demon's response.  
  
"You guys? Uh, you guys?" Kuwabara's voice came from out of the well doubtfully. Kagome peered over the edge.   
  
  
  
"Just pull yourself up, Kuwabara-kun, it's not hard, I do it all the time!" she called. "Hi Urameshi-kun!" she added as Yuusuke appeared next to Kuwabara.  
  
"Just look at the pattern of all the debris," Kurama insisted. "It's like it was all being pulled toward something, rather than being blown away from something."  
  
Hiei shrugged. "Maybe there's a youkai with wind powers or something around here." His eyes lit up. "Let's find it and fight it!"  
  
"It was probably Miroku-sama's kazaana," Kagome said, paying attention suddenly. "He's not a youkai, he's ningen, but he has a curse. You shouldn't fight him, he's on our side," she admonished Hiei with a wag of her finger.  
  
"I'm not on anyone's side," Hiei glowered. "Baka ningen."  
  
"Hmph. Stuck up, aren't you?" Kagome turned back to the well, and Kurama set a restraining hand on Hiei's shoulder.  
  
Yuusuke crawled out of the well, to Kuwabara's protests of "Hey, Urameshi! Wait for me, dammit!"  
  
"Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome sighed. "He's slowing us down." Turning suddenly on Yuusuke, she demanded "You two didn't get into a fight, did you? Because I would be very angry if-"  
  
Inuyasha leapt out of the well and perched on the edge of it. "Are you serious, Kagome? You don't think this guy could beat me, do you? I can't believe it!"  
  
Before Yuusuke could respond, Kuwabara sprawled onto the ground beside the well, looking very dirty and grubby for his trouble.  
  
"You could have given him a lift, Inuyasha," Kagome admonished.  
  
"I don't need any help!" Kuwabara insisted.  
  
"Let's get going," Hiei interupted, itching for a battle.  
  
Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Can you smell which way it went?"  
  
He sniffed the air and grimaced. The smell was really unpleasant. "Towards the village," he said definately.  
  
"Oh no!" Kagome climbed onto his back and they took off at a run. "Come on," she called to the others. "We've got to get there to help!"  
  
Kurama and Hiei kept up Inuyasha's pace easily, but the two human boys, even running full out, fell behind very rapidly. 'I hope this village isn't very far,' Yuusuke thought to himself. 'I hate running.'  
  
"Kaede-bochan!" Kagome called out as soon as they were close enough to see the houses. "Miroku-sama!"  
  
In the middle of the village, they found Sango, Kirara, and Shippo. "Kagome-chan! Inuyasha!" Sango called. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow morning!"  
  
"We've had an emergency change in plans," Kagome explained, picking up Shippo as he hopped into her arms. Looking around her, she recognized the signs that the village had been through some sort of battle.  
  
"We were attacked - a giant bird youkai came out of the well," Sango explained.  
  
"We ran into it on the other side, too," said Inuyasha.  
  
"It was really bad," Shippo announced, rubbing his face against Kagome's shoulder. "A little girl got hurt."  
  
"Is she ok?"  
  
"We don't know," said Sango. "She's in Kaede-sama's house being treated." She suddenly noticed the two youkai boys who were behind Kagome. Shippo too caught sight of them and poked his head over Kagome's shoulder to stare at them.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so rude," Kagome shook her head. "This is Kurama-kun and Hiei-san. They're... what are you called? Reikai tantei?"  
  
"That's right," Kurama assured her. "We're after that youkai," he clarified for Sango. Hiei was silent.  
  
"There are two ningen boys with them, too," Kagome added. "We must have run too fast for them."  
  
"Didn't see YOU doing any running," Inuyasha muttered. "So where's the youkai?"  
  
"It left," sighed Sango. "I would have followed it, but we're not strong enough to do more than chase it away. Now that you're back, though..."  
  
Yuusuke and Kuwabara jogged up, panting from their run. "Well? Where is it?"  
  
"Been and gone," said Hiei.  
  
"But with astoundingly few casualties, as I understand," Kurama added. "The people of this village must be remarkable."  
  
"It was mostly Sango!" Shippo chirped. "She and Kirara were wonderful!"  
  
Miroku came up to them. "It's good you've come back. You've brought reinforcements?"  
  
Kagome sped through the introductions as quickly as she could, and everyone got up to speed. "How's the little girl?" she asked.  
  
Miroku's face grew dark. "She did not survive."  
  
Kagome's eyes grew wet. She knew most of the people in the small village by name, and all of them by sight, and the thought that perhaps if she'd just come a little earlier... "Only a great evil would attack and kill a small child," she said. "We must stop it."  
  
Miroku held out her bow. "Kaede-sama knew you were back. We should start moving as soon as possible."  
  
Kagome lifted the full quiver onto her back, and slung her bow over it. "I think we're all ready now. Let's go."  
  
They made an unusual caravan, heading out of the village. Inuyasha took the lead, his nose in the air, searching for a clue. Tracking a flying beast by scent was difficult, almost impossible, but he was determined to try, anyway. Besides, the farther away from that Yuusuke guy, the better. Not to mention the damn pretty-boy who kept flirting with Kagome. And her! Blushing and giggling like she'd never met a boy before in her life. It was disgusting. It was worse than watching her with Kouga. At least he felt reasonably confident that she'd never pick some stupid kidnapping wolf over him. Not like Kagome was his wife or anything, she could go flirt with any stupid boy she wanted to, hell, she could MARRY the guy, it was all the same to him. Stupid girl.  
  
Kuwabara went next, using his psychic strengths to feel out the trail the bird had left, and wishing someone had warned him he might have to travel through time like this.  
  
Miroku and Sango were behind Kuwabara, with Kirara perched on Sango's shoulders. They alternated between talking, groping/slapping, and stony silence. Yuusuke was walking just behind them, lost in his own thoughts, but occasionally he took a moment to give them an appraising look and wonder what the hell was up with them. When Sango slapped Miroku after the monk attempted something that Yuusuke hadn't caught, he couldn't help but think of Keiko and grin. 'So THAT's how it is,' he thought. Miroku rubbed his cheek mournfully and noticed Yuusuke watching him with amusement. "Women," the monk sighed. Sango glared and stomped a few steps ahead.  
  
Behind Yuusuke came Kagome with Kurama beside her, and Shippo sometimes perched on her shoulder, sometimes running along on all fours beside her. When he rode, he spent most of his time peering at Kurama with curiosity. "Ne, Kagome," the kitsune whispered. "He's strange, isn't he?"  
  
Kurama had heard him and smiled warmly at the small fox child. "Am I?"  
  
Shippo leaned over and smelled him quickly. "Well," he said slowly, "you smell sort of like fox, but also not. Like a fox, but like a human, too." He cocked his head and lifted his tail. "Are you a hanyou?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
Curiosity satisfied for the time being, Shippo turned around and faced backwards. "What's wrong with your friend?"  
  
He was talking about Hiei, who was bringing up the rear and rather far away from them. Hiei was irritated. He'd come here because Kurama had promised him there'd be fighting to do, and instead he was wasting time hanging around with a bunch of ningen and their cuddly youkai sidekicks. A two tailed cat and a baby kitsune? And he was supposed to take them seriously? He really doubted that young woman and her cat could actually have driven the bird away from the village, as the kitsune had insisted. She didn't look like she could have taken Kuwabara in a fight. And now he was stuck going at a slow ningen pace. They'd never catch up to it at this rate.  
  
"Nothing's wrong with him," Kurama assured Shippo.  
  
"So he's always like that?"  
  
"Shippo-chan, that's rude," laughed Kagome.  
  
Kurama lifted his face to study the sky, searching for signs of their quarry, and Kagome turned her head slightly to watch him out of the corner of her eye. She really couldn't believe that someone so handsome was walking along next to her as if they were old friends. Embarassed, she looked ahead to Inuyasha, and felt a little guilty. Well, she wasn't really doing anything wrong, she told herself. There was no rule against admiring a cute boy just because you happened to be sort-of involved with a different one. Right? She crossed her arms defiantly. It wasn't like she had actually done anything. Or that she would. Glancing at Kurama's face again, she wondered what she would do if he ever tried to kiss her. Of course she would stop him. Although just a little kiss couldn't possibly be so bad, sure, if Inuyasha loved her back it would be wrong, but he didn't. She'd be doing herself a favor if she got over him and dated a guy like Kurama, right? He lowered his eyes and smiled in her direction, and she felt her face instantly go bright red. He'd seen her staring! He'd probably guessed everything she'd been thinking!  
  
"Kagome, why is your face so red?" Shippo asked, hopping down to run for a bit.  
  
"It's not!" she insisted, blushing furiously and speeding up. "Sango-chan!" she called. "Matteo!" She absolutely couldn't stay next to Kurama after that.  
  
"This is stupid." Hiei's voice came from where Kagome had been a moment earlier. "We're wasting time with humans."  
  
"I'm not a human!" Shippo piped up. Hiei stared at him with blazing eyes and Shippo shrieked with fear and scampered ahead. "Kowai, kowai!"  
  
"You're slowing us all down so you can flirt with some ningen girl," Hiei continued with disgust. "Don't you have enough admirerers as it is?"  
  
"Jealous?" Kurama asked archly, knowing his friend wouldn't bother justifying the accusation with a response. "Anyway, this isn't about Kagome, Hiei. You should know me better than that. She and her friends know this area, and probably a lot of the inhabitants. There's no sense getting ourselves into any more trouble than we have to while we're here, you know."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
"Talk to Yuusuke if you're so upset, but you know he and Kuwabara are human too. And even I can't move as fast as you. Not in this body, anyway. Try to relax. We'll get it."  
  
"Don't you know this area? You said before that you were alive during this time."  
  
"Five hundred years is a pretty long time, Hiei. I wouldn't rely on Youko Kurama's memories to get around. And besides, I didn't really spend a lot of time around here. Other than the Shikon no Tama, there just isn't much worth stealing."  
  
"Shikon no Tama," murmered Hiei. "What can you tell me about it?"  
  
Kurama shrugged. "It can increase a youkai's powers tenfold, easily. Ningen can use it too, but I'm not sure how or what for. I don't know much about it, actually. Rumors, mostly, and what Botan and Koenma told us earlier. I suspect that Kagome and her friends know quite a bit more about it that we do, but somehow I don't think they'd share that information with you."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"You don't exactly inspire them with trust."  
  
"That's because I don't waste my time trying to impress human girls."  
  
"While we were walking, I noticed something interesting."  
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Kagome's wearing a piece of the jewel around her neck."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I don't know what else it could be. It's not a very large piece, but it definately seemed... special."  
  
"Why would she be carrying it?"  
  
"Supposedly the jewel was often entrusted to the care of a miko who could protect it and purify it..."  
  
"That girl is NOT a miko. She's a junior high student."  
  
"She lives at a Shinto temple."  
  
"What kind of a priestess wears a skirt that short?"  
  
"Since when do you pay attention to skirt lengths, Hiei?" Yuusuke had dropped back to eavesdrop on them. "Don't go all girl crazy on me. I don't want to be the only sane member of the team."  
  
"I was only making a point," Hiei muttered.  
  
"Yeah, about Kagome's legs, I bet. You're going to get worse than Kuwabara around Yuki-" An intense glare shut Yuusuke up before he finished saying the name. "Hey, never mind! Nobody's got a thing for your sister! Who said that?"  
  
"Someday, Urameshi, I am going to kill you." Hiei squeezed his fingers as though he were closing them around Yuusuke's throat.  
  
"Looking forward to it, pal," Yuusuke said, good naturedly. He knew Hiei didn't mean it, even if he seemed deadly serious. "But you know, you do have a point. Wish I'd gone to HER school in junior high. I would have gone more often, that's for sure." He laughed long and loud. "Hey, maybe when we get done here, we bring her round to the girls and she'll give Keiko some fashion advice." He rubbed his palms together wickedly.  
  
"Why does he get to be the leader, again?" Hiei asked Kurama.  
  
"We'll ask Koenma when we get home." 


	5. Part Five

Author's notes:  
  
Whoohoo! I am totally in love with the response this story is getting. I didn't expect people to be quite so enthusiastic. And some of your suggestions (Tinuviel!) make me want to rewrite parts. So you can consider that to be a good or a bad thing, depending on how soon you want your updates. Writing has kind of slowed down the last few weeks as I try to do some more direction-y type stuff, but there's lots of material yet to be posted, so don't worry. That reminds me, if any of you are interested in beta-ing the second arc for me, drop me an email, ok? That would be cool.  
  
And finally, in response to Hyper Godzilla, who said:  
  
"i'm almost positive that in order travel back in time through that well the person has to have a piece of the jewel with them"  
  
I have this... Inuyasha is almost never carrying any fragments of the jewel on his person, but he is able to travel through the well. Also, in one episode, Shippo runs into the well to escape from wolves, and is carrying almost half the Shikon jewel with him, but doesn't move through time. The jewel does seem to be necessary in order for Kagome to do so, but in that same episode, she doesn't actually have a jewel fragment on her, but draws on the power of the piece Shippo has in the alternate time.  
  
Since this phenomenon hasn't been explained (to my knoweldge, and I have seen the anime up to episode 102), it seems to me that the time travel requires a certain level of ReiKi (or spirit energy, as they call it in the YYH dub). Inuyasha, as the son of an insanely powerful demon lord, has high ReiKi, so he can do it. Kagome's power on her own isn't quite enough because she hasn't properly trained as a priestess, but the Shikon jewel amplifies her powers enough that she can do it. Shippo is still a child, and his powers are accordingly too weak, even with the help of the jewel. Same goes for Souta, who also tries to go through the well in "Terror of the Noh Mask." But the four YYH boys all have high ReiKi. That's pretty much the foundation of the YYH story.  
  
In other words, Miraii knows what she's doing, pshaw. Don't be second guessing me, foo!  
  
However, I do appreciate the fact that you took the time to be critical. It's a good sign...  
  
Enough... On with Part Five.  
  
---  
  
Part Five  
  
---  
  
When the sun was over halfway down, Kagome called a halt, and the little caravan gathered into a closer group to hear her. "It's no use going on in the dark," she pointed out. "Maybe some of you youkai types can see ok, but the rest of us can't, and besides, I'm sure we're all tired. I say we make camp here. There's a stream not far where we can refill our water supplies, and we've camped nearby before without trouble."  
  
"You want to STOP?" Hiei stared at her. "Do you actually plan on catching this thing, or are you on vacation?" He was pissed.  
  
But so was Kagome. She wasn't about to be insulted by some obnoxious boy who hadn't had one nice thing to say since she'd met him. She stalked right over to him and slapped his face.  
  
"I knew the little girl who died this afternoon," she hissed. "Her name was Sayako, and she was eight years old, and she died in horrible pain. I made a promise today to avenge her, and I intend to keep it. But I still can't see in the dark, nor can I go all night without sleep. If you say anything like that again, you won't be welcome here anymore." With that, she turned on her heel and walked away to set her bag in the clearing she'd picked for them to camp in. Hiei stood, holding his cheek in shock. A human girl had struck him. He didn't actually know how he could react to that unexpected turn of events, so he didn't do anything.  
  
Kuwabara let out a low whistle. "Wow. I think I like that girl."  
  
"Shut up, idiot." Hiei felt a new flush of anger. That girl had humiliated him. He turned to Kurama. "We can't just stop. If it keeps traveling, it could get out of tracking range before morning."  
  
"That's true. But then... if it's supposed to find the Shikon no Tama, and we have part of it with us," -he dropped his voice, not wanting the others to know that he was aware of that fact - "then it ought to head back toward us, I'd think. It's probably only running because it's hungry."  
  
"All the more reason to catch it before it comes after us," Yuusuke pointed out. "Hiei, if you want to go on ahead, go, but report back here at sunrise and let us know what you found. I'm hungry, and wouldn't mind a nap before I do any fighting, anyway."  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to stay here, too," Kuwabara agreed.  
  
"Nobody asked you to come along," grunted Hiei. "I'll go alone, I can move faster that way anyway."  
  
"But don't go out there spoiling for a fight," Kurama warned. "Track the bird, but don't get sidetracked picking on anything else."  
  
Hiei nodded. "Right, I know. I'll be back in the morning." And with that he was gone, moving with the shocking speed that rendered him nearly invisible.  
  
"So Kurama," Yuusuke kept his voice low. "Now may not be the best time to bring this up, but about that Shikon thing... You haven't forgotten the second part of our mission, have you?"  
  
"You're right, Yuusuke. This isn't a good time to talk about it."  
  
"Just making sure that love hadn't driven it out of your mind," shrugged the other boy with a smirk.  
  
Kurama rolled his eyes. "I'm not even going to bother responding to that."  
  
Miroku glanced up from where he was starting a fire. "What happened to the angry one?" he inquired as the three remaining Reikai Tantei strolled over to the camp.  
  
"He's going to run recon so he doesn't feel tempted to kill anyone," Yuusuke said cheerfully, flopping down on the grass.  
  
"He was worried that the trail would go cold during the night," Kuwabara added.  
  
"Plus he wanted to save face after Kagome-chan smacked him," laughed Kurama. "That was one of the funniest things I've ever seen."  
  
Sango took a sip of water from the skin she was carrying, and shook her head. "He was very cruel to say that to her."  
  
"Hiei doesn't concern himself with the feelings of others very often," Kurama said, shaking his head.  
  
"Very often? When has he ever?" asked Kuwabara, perplexed.  
  
Kagome sat down by them, then, with her backpack in her lap. "Now it's time to see what Mama packed for us!" she said, pulling several bento boxes out. "She sure gave us a lot," she said with surprise. "Good thing, since there's more of us then normal. Inuyasha, stop pacing around and come and sit down - oops! Gomen nasai, Inuyasha, I didn't mean SIT- Gomen!" she clapped her hand over her mouth. Inuyasha pulled himself off the ground and crouched down near Miroku, glaring at Kagome as he did. "I really didn't mean it, Inuyasha!" she insisted. "You don't need to get so mad at me for something I did accidently!" She sighed and opened the first box, and immediately squealed with delight. "Mama! Arigato gosaimasu! Look! She made us rolled sushi!" She set it down and opened the next box, which contained riceballs. "She must have been making it for a special supper to celebrate the end of the term. I bet she did. And then when it turned out I had to leave early she packed it up so I could still have it!"  
  
It was a great feast, indeed. Kagome's mother had packed up a massive amount of food for them, and they passed it around, eating ravenously.  
  
"This is delicious! Your mother made this?" Yuusuke said. "I want to live at your house. You eat this well all the time?"  
  
Kagome laughed. "No, I'm usually here, where the food isn't quite so refined. But I'll tell Mama you liked it when I get home."  
  
After the initial feeding frenzy, during which they were mostly quiet, Miroku asked if they had any sort of battle strategy, and if so, would they fill him in?  
  
Kuwabara pushed a riceball into his mouth. "What strategy? We find it, we kill it."  
  
Yuusuke grinned. "Yeah, that's pretty much my plan."  
  
"It's like fighting with a lot of Inuyashas," Sango remarked to Miroku.  
  
"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Relax, inu-boy, being compared to me is a compliment," Yuusuke picked up a piece of sushi. "Not a compliment I think you deserve, but I'll let that go this time."  
  
Kagome interrupted before Inuyasha could insult Yuusuke back, asking for more information about the bird they were chasing. "Where do you think it's going?"  
  
"Who cares?" Inuyasha flexed his fingers, admiring his sharp claws. "Just as long as we can follow it and stop it from hurting anyone else."  
  
"That depends," Kurama said to Kagome. "If it's wounded - and I believe that Sango-san did wound it?" He looked to the taijiya for confirmation, and she nodded, obviously uncomfortable under his gaze, her cheeks flushing. Kurama gave her a gentle smile, which resulted in her rapidly looking away and murmering something unintelligable about having hurt the bird's foot. He went on, "If it's injured, it's probably looking for a meal and a place to rest. After it's gotten those, it'll start going after the Shikon no Tama, or any fragments that it can sense." He noticed Kagome's hand stray to a barely noticeable lump underneath her shirt. The jewel shard she was wearing, he assumed.  
  
"A meal?" Miroku asked. "You mean a person?"  
  
Kurama nodded. "Probably. It also eats livestock, cattle and such, but it eats humans when it can. But it probably isn't accustomed to the people of this world, who are so strong against demon attacks. The fact that you drove it out of your village is very encouraging."  
  
"The praise for that should really go to Sango," said Miroku. The two-tailed cat put her paws on his knee and mewed. "Ah, and Kirara, of course," he amended, patting her head. "Gomen ne, Kirara. I spoke without thinking."  
  
She mewed forgivingly and rubbed her head against him before bounding over to Shippo, who was being uncharacteristically quiet as he ate, and climbing into his lap.  
  
Yuusuke yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "Anyway," he said, "we'll probably catch up with it tomorrow, and then we kill it. Unless Hiei finds it and kills it tonight," he added thoughtfully.  
  
Everyone was tired, and the darkness made sleep seem especially welcome. Yuusuke and Kuwabara both fell asleep almost immediately after dinner, sprawled out on the ground looking dirty and peaceful. Sango stretched out where she was and rested her head on her arms, as Kirara curled up nearby, with her tail covering her nose. She lay still and watched the fire drowsily, until she noticed Miroku's hand creeping along the ground near her. She slammed her fist into it, pinning his hand to the ground, and growled, "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Ah- ah, nothing!" the monk insisted, scuttling a ways away and settling with his back against a tree. "Just, uh, checking to see if you were awake!"  
  
Kagome spread out her sleeping bag and crawled inside, but wasn't quite ready for sleep yet. Inuyasha was sitting near her head, as he often was before she fell asleep, and she reached out and squeezed his hand, feeling an overwhelming desire for his company. He looked down at her with his golden eyes quizzical.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Nothing," she murmured sleepily. "Just making sure you're really there."  
  
"What are you talking about? Of course I am. You're weird."  
  
"Mmm," she agreed. But she didn't take her hand away, and neither did he. Her eyes fell closed and she yawned deeply. "I always sleep well when you're there to protect me..." she was starting to drift off.  
  
"Go to sleep, Kagome," Inuyasha tucked her arm inside the sleeping bag. "You're going crazy with the strain." He stroked her hair with a rush of affection and protectiveness. Kagome was really beautiful when she slept, he thought. So peaceful and trusting. He looked up and saw Kurama looking in their direction, and he narrowed his eyes at him, feeling a territorial desire to beat the creep up. But Kagome's sleeping sigh redirected his eyes, and he gazed down at her with tenderness again.  
  
Kurama turned away from the private moment and tilted his face to the starry sky. It had been a long time since he'd seen so many stars. The sight gave him a strange feeling of longing that he couldn't place.  
  
He was distracted by the light touch of a small hand on his knee, and looked down to see Shippo, hesitantly resting his little paws on him. He smiled benevolently. "Aren't you tired?" he asked.  
  
"Not really," the little one replied. "I rode on people's shoulders most of the way." He shied away a little. "Am I bothering you?"  
  
"Not at all."  
  
"It's just... I haven't been around any other foxes in a while," Shippo explained. "Not since Papa died. So I thought, if it was ok with you..."  
  
Kurama set his hand on the small boy's head. "I would be glad for your friendship, Shippo. It's been quite some time since I knew another fox, too."  
  
Shippo smiled brightly. "Great!" He sat close by and looked up at the older boy's face admiringly. "You like Kagome, huh?"  
  
He smiled. Children could be so direct. "Don't you?"  
  
"'Course. She's my best friend! She has been ever since I first met her. That was after my tousan got killed, and she and Inuyasha helped me avenge him." He smiled in a sad little way.  
  
"That must have been very painful."  
  
"It was. But at least I met Kagome. And I like travelling around with everybody. Even Inuyasha." Shippo yawned, stretching his arms high over his head. "And Kaede keeps Otou's fur for me, so when we go back to the village I can always tell him what's been happening."  
  
Shippo's resilency was astounding, thought Kurama, remembering with a tremor his human mother's illness and near death. Could he ever have been so strong, had the fate of Shippo's father befallen her? He feared the answer.  
  
"I do miss him, though," the fox-child confessed after a long silence. "I wouldn't want to give up my friendships with everyone, but I wish Otou hadn't had to die."  
  
Kurama nodded. He had nothing to say that would bring comfort to his young friend. "Perhaps we should speak of happier things," he suggested. "Talking about one's sorrows before sleep can give bad dreams."  
  
Shippo agreed, and settled in to tell Kurama stories about his friends. Soon, however, his eyes began to droop, and his bushy tail sank from the upright position it usually held. He rubbed a tiny hand across his eyes and yawned mightily. "Maybe I should... go to sleep," he mumbled almost inaudibly, curling into a ball where he sat.  
  
"I think that's a good idea."  
  
"Goodnight... Kurama-niichan." 


	6. Part Six

Superquick author's note: Thanks so much for your great reviews, guys! They're so encouraging, I want to tell my friends about them... but then I remember their worried eyes as I feverishly mumble about how I love anime...  
  
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Part Six  
  
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Inuyasha woke up in the earliest part of the morning, before the sun had even started to rise. He stretched his arms over his head and surveyed the camp. Kagome was still sleeping quietly, her brow slightly furrowed in dreaming, and he smiled down on her protectively. The ashes of last night's fire smoldered in the center of their circle, and he poked at it, stirring up the embers to provoke a new flame for breakfast. All the humans seemed to deeply slumbering, he observed with a little annoyance, which meant he would have to figure out his meal on his own. With a pout, he flopped down next to Kagome and stared at her, hoping the force of his eyes would wake her up. When it became abundantly clear that staring wasn't going to help, he carefully reached for her backpack and backed away from her to rummage through it.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked a smooth voice.  
  
"Huh?" he jerked his head up and found Kurama, the damn pretty-boy, watching him. "Looking for something to eat," he muttered.  
  
Kurama stretched and sat up, yawning. "Oh. Find anything?"  
  
Inuyasha left the bag alone and stared at the other boy suspiciously. "What do you care?"  
  
"I'm hungry, too, that's all." Kurama got to his feet, careful not to wake Shippo, who was curled up next to him. "There's no need to get upset, we're on the same side here."  
  
"Right," Inuyasha muttered, going back to his scavenging, but keeping one eye on the fox. He didn't trust him, not even a little bit.  
  
Which he was making abundantly clear, thought Kurama as he went to the little stream to wash his face and hands. As he bent over the water, he caught the sound of something moving quickly towards him, and so it was little surprise when Hiei appeared a few feet from him. They greeted each other silently. Kurama splashed himself with the clear, cold water, and looked up at Hiei expectantly. "How did it go?"  
  
Hiei shrugged. "Found it."  
  
"You did?"  
  
"No, but I know where it is," Hiei amended. "If we move quick, it might even still be there."  
  
"You didn't kill it?"  
  
"I didn't get the chance," he said with irritation. "But I will. Where are the others?"  
  
"They're asleep." Kurama indicated the sky, which had only started to lighten. "It's not quite morning yet."  
  
"Well wake them up! They've had enough rest."  
  
They set out early, without a full breakfast, but well rested, and anxious to move. Unsaid in the air was the knowledge that their enemy had probably killed and eaten someone in the time since it left the village, and somehow, it affected their own hunger. Except for Inuyasha, who managed not to think of that unpleasant fact.  
  
The day was long. Kagome started wishing she hadn't left her bike behind, as her shoulders screamed under the weight of her backpack. Everyone was in a foul mood, from hunger and worry. Miroku was pensive and was walking alone and silent, which put Sango into a bad mood (not that she would admit it), worrying about him and getting angry at him for worrying her by turns. Inuyasha and Yuuske were still arguing constantly, and Kagome was getting burnt out on trying to control them. Hiei remained standoffish to the others and spent a great deal of their walk in conference with Kurama. Kuwabara, however, had become the object of Kirara the cat's affection, and was having a rather nice time playing with her, oblivious to the mood of the others. As for Shippo, he was curled up asleep in Kagome's backpack.  
  
Kagome shifted the weight of her bag and tried not to show how tired she was. She could sense the irritation of some of the others (Hiei and Inuyasha, especially), at the pace they were keeping, and resolved not to seem weak. In front of Inuyasha, it wouldn't matter so much, but these new allies all seemed so strong, and she didn't want to be the weak link in the chain. She could hold her own in a battle... couldn't she? She touched the curved wood of her bow and hoped the slight tremor that went through her wasn't visible. Well, if Kikyo could do it, she could do it.  
  
Shyly, the tall, clumsy-seeming Kuwabara jogged over to her, with Kirara close behind, mewing for him. "Is it heavy?" he asked, jarring her out of her thoughts.  
  
"What?" she replied, startled.  
  
"Your bag. If it's too heavy, I could carry it for you."  
  
"Oh..." she smiled. How nice of him. "Thank you, but it's not necessary, really," she insisted, inwardly scolding herself for her stupid pride.  
  
"It's no problem. I just thought you might like a break, you know."  
  
Well, what was the harm in letting him take her backpack, anyway? She thanked him with a quick bow and let him take the bag. "Ahhh!" she sighed, stretching her arms with ecstacy. "Much better. Arigato gozaimasu, Kazuma-kun!" She paused, not sure what to say to him. "Kirara seems to like you," she offered at last.  
  
"Oh, well, yeah, I like cats a lot," he said, looking a little embarassed. "I dunno why."  
  
Kirara mewed and pawed at his leg, and he smiled down at her broadly. "I guess a lot of people think it's kind of dumb, but I just do. I've never seen one like her before, though."  
  
"You haven't even seen her in action yet. I bet you've never seen anything like that," Kagome said. "Anyway, thanks for taking my bag. I've got something to talk to Inuyasha about right now. Ja!"  
  
"A-" he blinked with surprise as she trotted up to talk to Inuyasha, and then nearly fell over with shock when Shippo popped out of the top of the backpack.  
  
"Hey, what happened to Kagome?" Shippo asked, looking around. "You're not her."  
  
"Get down and walk, you little shrimp!" yelled Kuwabara. "No wonder she was so tired, geeze."  
  
Shippo hopped down and with a flick of his tail sped off. "What a jerk," he muttered to himself. "Oi, oi, Kurama-niichan!" he called as he scampered on all fours.  
  
"Nii-chan?" Hiei gave Kurama a skeptical eye. "You're certainly making a lot of friends."  
  
"Shippo," snapped Inuyasha. "Shut up." He caught the young fox by the tail and brought him to eye level, the better to glare at him.  
  
"Oh leave him alone, little dog. He's just a kid," sighed Yuuske. "He can't help it."  
  
"Yeah! I can't help it!" agreed Shippo.  
  
Inuyasha knocked him on the head.  
  
"Knock that shit off," growled Yuuske. "Don't pick on little kids."  
  
'Urameshi-kun must like children,' Kagome thought.  
  
Inuyasha dropped Shippo, who let out a squeal and ran to Kagome immediately. The hanyou approached Yuuske menacingly. "I don't like you." It was a rumble in his throat.  
  
"Well it's mutual, baka inu." Yuuske reached out a hand and barely shoved Inuyasha's chest. "But I bet you hear that all the time."  
  
"Ano- boys?" Neither of them paid any attention to Kagome. The standoff might have escalated into something much worse, were it not for a shout from Sango, some ways up ahead.  
  
"Minna-san!" She and Miroku were standing in front of something that none of them had really expected: the eviscerated corpse of the bird youkai's victim. For a long, horrible moment, no one could do anything but stare with fixated horror at the sight. The bird had removed her eyes, her tongue, had pecked out the liver and kidneys, and eaten them all. What was left sent chills into the hearts of even the most battle-scarred of them. They had all seen terrible things, brutal things, and many of them had committed acts of great violence at one time or another, but all of it paled before this single girl, her body mutilated and twisted, her face contorted in such a way as to make it impossible to even pretend she had died without intense pain. They all stood, frozen, in an instant that lasted many years, before Miroku fell to his knees at the girl's head and began to pray. Silently, Kagome joined him, her head bent, listening to the monk's soft voice, looking in it for some comfort. One by one, the others followed suit, paying respect to this innocent that they had failed to save. Tears flowing freely, Kuwabara grasped the blood-stained hand of the girl and wept a desperate apology to her.  
  
Hiei stood behind them and watched them with what seemed to be a cold eye. He didn't intend to get all choked up over some dead human girl. And yet - she touched him, somehow. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that there were people who cared about this girl, that to someone, she may have been as precious as Yukina was to him, and when he thought about that, he felt such a rage he couldn't even think. It was that rage that drove his fist into the ground, carving out an impressive crater and disturbing the mourners. He didn't turn to face them, his shoulders hunched, his head down. "Bury her," he said. "We can't waste time, or it could happen again."  
  
No one disagreed with that. The girl's body was rolled into the ground, and they covered her with earth and piled stones over the grave. Miroku prayed again that her soul would find release, and they set off with foreboding in their hearts.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome took his fingers in hers, which earned her a scowl that she subsequently ignored. "Where is this thing?"  
  
"How should I know?" he complained. "That guy's the one who was supposed to find it last night, go ask him." He jerked his head at Hiei.  
  
"I'm just worried... it's supposed to be hunting for Shikon no Tama. Kurama-kun said last night that it could sense the shards, so -"  
  
"-so it should come right to us," finished Inuyasha confidently.  
  
"Maybe. But maybe not."  
  
"Yeah, maybe it'll lead us to Naraku instead. Either way, sounds good to me."  
  
"I was thinking about Kouga-kun. He has two shards-"  
  
"Kouga-kun?" Inuyasha mimicked. "Let him worry about himself. Hmph. 'Kouga-kun.' What do you care what happens to that stupid-"  
  
Kagome sighed. She should have known better than to bring up that particular concern. Better to change the subject than argue with him right now. "Well, what about Sango-chan's brother? Kohaku-kun still has one embedded in his back. What if-"  
  
"Nothing's going to happen to him," Inuyasha said firmly. "Your piece is bigger than his piece, and the stupid wolf's, so it's going to come after you. Ne?"  
  
"... Somehow that's not as comforting as I'd hoped."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
They were getting closer. All day the uneasiness had lingered in their minds, and as the time wore on, it became clear that it was the result of the jaki that the bird emananated. It was a feeling of evil that grew steadily stronger with each step they took, a warning that made their hearts implore them to turn back, to run for their lives. But they pressed on.  
  
Yuusuke held up a hand, signaling a stop, and with serious faces, they gathered into a circle.  
  
"I think we're about to be in for a fight," said Yuusuke. "I'm starting to think it's headed towards us, too."  
  
"Definately," agreed Kuwabara. "I can feel it getting closer."  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
"So it won't be too long before it gets here," Yuusuke went on. "If anyone isn't ready for some battle, you better get ready quick." He glanced at Kagome and Sango when he said that, and then threw in a meaningful look at Shippo.  
  
-And immediately looked back at Sango, because she appeared to be untying her kimono. "Uh..."  
  
Kuwabara's jaw dropped. "What are you doing?!?!"  
  
Sango looked up quizzically, and then went red. "I'm wearing armor underneath, you perverts!" she shrieked, conking them both on the head.  
  
"Gomen nasai," the boys slurred from the ground. The tension of the moment was pretty well shattered, and everyone laughed.  
  
Miroku shook his head soulfully. "Silly young boys. You'd think they'd never seen a pretty lady undressing before- OW!" He rubbed his face. "Please save some of your energy for our enemy, Sango."  
  
"Speaking of which," Inuyasha said, his hand on Tetsusaiga. "Not to interupt the fun and games, but I think it's here." 


End file.
